Cabbage Rolls with Vegetable Couscous and Horseradish Sauce

Bring approx. 2 litres / 8.5 cups of salted water to the boil. Clean the cabbage and remove the outer leaves. Remove 8 large cabbage leaves and blanch them in the boiling water for about 1 minute. Remove with a strainer, rinse in ice cold water and drain on a kitchen towel. Cut the thick leaves flat or pound them with a meat mallet. In case the leaves are very large, cut them in half along the leaf vein.

For the filling: Bring the vegetable stock to the boil and pour it over the couscous. Cover the bowl with cling film. Halve the remaining cabbage, remove the stalk and cut it into 1 cm / 0.4 inch pieces. Cook the pieces in salted water until soft for about 5 minutes. Strain and mix them into the couscous while still warm. Let the mixture steep for 20 minutes.

For the horseradish sauce: Heat the butter in a pot, add flour and sauté briefly. Deglaze with vermouth and cook (without a lid) until reduced by half. Add the vegetable bouillon and cook again until reduced by a third. Pour in the cream and season with salt and chili. Bring to the boil, then remove from the stove. Peel the horseradish and add it to the sauce using a fine grater, heat at around 75 °C. Don't bring to the boil, otherwise it will end up bitter. Let the sauce steep for 5 minutes, strain it through a sieve, squeeze out any leftovers with a ladle (important for an intense horseradish taste).

Wash the leek and cut it into 1 cm / 0.4 in wide rings, peel the potatoes and cut into 1 cm / 0.4 large pieces. Set them aside.

Clean and chop the fennel, celery and garlic into small cubes and fry them briefly in olive oil. Add the couscous and mix it. Season with salt, pepper and finely chopped parsley.

Place the cabbage leaves next to each other on the work surface and add the vegetable couscous evenly on top of them. Fold the leaves over the filling on both sides, roll them up and secure with cooking twine if necessary.

Spread the leek rings and potato pieces in a sauté pan and pour over the vegetable stock. Braise in the preheated oven at 180 °C for about 15 minutes. Place the cabbage rolls on top and braise for another 15 minutes. Pour over the stock that forms in the pan.

Heat the horseradish sauce. Add the cold butter and mix with a hand blender.

Arrange the cabbage rolls and braised vegetables on plates, drizzle with the horseradish sauce and sprinkle with some freshly torn horseradish.